Provincial Release:
The Premier's Award of Excellence was presented to three teams and one individual for contributions to Nova Scotia at a ceremony in Halifax today, June 15.

"The employees recognized today demonstrate some of the best that Nova Scotia's civil servants have to offer," said Premier Darrell Dexter. "They represent many of our remarkable civil servants who bring their skill and dedication to their public service roles each day to make life better for families in every region."

The Premier's Award of Excellence is the highest honour of the Nova Scotia civil service. Established in 2006, the award program recognizes Nova Scotian civil servants for outstanding contributions and achievements.

Winners of the fifth annual Premier's Award of Excellence are:
— The Bundled Birth Services Team, Vital Statistics, Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations. The team helped make Nova Scotia the first province to offer integrated birth registration, child social insurance number application and Canada Child Benefits application.
— Charles Macdonald, Senior Diversity Management Consultant, Public Service Commission. His outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion has influenced the support and promotion of a public service that is representative of the diverse community it serves.
— The ReThink Committee, Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal. Its challenge to colleagues increased environmentally conscious decision-making in the workplace. The behavioral change will have a lasting impact on promoting green culture in the workplace.
— The Halifax E-Vault Team, Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations. Countless hours of scanning and digitizing millions of paper records despite challenges and obstacles sorted more than 250 years of historical documents. The effort has made the Halifax County Land Registration Office the first district to become 100 per cent e-accessible, making it easier for business and citizens.

Employees are nominated by co-workers for achievements in leadership excellence, innovation and creativity, outstanding client service and creative relationship building. A selection panel evaluated 19 nominations for impact, outcomes and how they were achieved and recommended four receive the award.

"The selection panel received quality submissions, depicting the great work Nova Scotians have come to expect," said Frank Corbett, Minister of the Public Service Commission. "We value our employees and the award is one way to celebrate their achievement."

For more information about the Premier's Award of Excellence, this year's recipients and their work, visit www.gov.ns.ca/psc/recognition.